India was once part of the British Empire, but thanks to
modern technology and a booming economy, it has turned the tables on its
former colonial master. Indian tutors are helping to teach math to British
children over high-speed Internet connections. Early results suggest the idea
is improving exam results. But not everyone is happy at this 'outsourcing' of
tutoring.

Five time zones - and thousands of kilometers away - their
math tutors are also arriving for class. High-speed Internet has made it
possible for Indian tutors to teach British pupils in real time. Each pupil
gets a dedicated one-to-one online tutor.

The class' teacher, Altus Basson, says he has seen an
improvement in results. "There are some children who’ve really rocketed
in their results. Children who struggle to focus in class focus a lot better
on the laptops. The real advantage is that each child gets a focused activity
and a single tutor," he said.

Raynham’s pupils like nine-year old Samia Abdul-Kadir say
they enjoy the online lessons. "It helps me because sometimes when we’re
doing it in class, I don’t hear the teacher very much and I don’t understand,
but online is better," she said.

"Children today feel very confident online, they feel
very engaged, they feel very in control. And that’s half the battle with
education. Give them control, make them feel confident and enjoy their
learning and you’ll see them start to improve and embrace it," he said.

But it has not been welcomed by all. Kevin Courtney is
deputy General Secretary of Britain's National Union of Teachers.

"We think there’s a really important emotional
connection between a teacher and a child whether it’s a whole class or
whether it’s one-to-one. You need that immediacy of feedback and we’re not
convinced that that can happen across an Internet connection. In one of the
wealthiest countries in the world, we think that we can afford to have
teachers with genuine emotional connection there with the children," he
said.